In the Texans’ 11-year history, all but two of their fi...

In the Texans’ 11-year history, all but two of their first-round draft picks have started on opening day as rookies.

It sounds like wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, the 27th overall pick out of Clemson, has a good chance to continue that trend.

“I’m expecting it right off the get-go,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Monday after being asked how quickly Hopkins might be ready for a big role. “He’s going in there, he’s gonna get the reps. It’s gonna be a very competitive situation, but we took him there because we expect him to play very, very early and touch (the ball).”

“This guy’s on his way to being a pro already, and we’ve got to help him get there real fast.”

“We love this guy,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “He is a guy who we thought could best come into this situation and help us the quickest, and not only quickly but this guy can evolve and develop into quite a player.”

Fantasy Impact:

It sounds as if Hopkins will have a good chance to start from the get-go. As a real-world WR2, he's likely to go in the later rounds (10th-12th) of fantasy drafts, depending on how the hype machine gets going.